Comparison

SmartBeam vs Curl IQ

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SmartBeam

Features
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Companion app for Curling Tools SmartBeam laser timing system. Order your SmartBeam hardware at www.curling.tools/smartbeam Privacy policy: https://curling.tools/privacy License agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Curl IQ

Features
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Your curling season, organized. curlIQ is built for curlers who want one place to record their games, track performance, and carry context from league night to bonspiel weekend. Play games with a strategy-directed end-by-end scoreboard that considers win probabilities based on the game situation (1-up with hammer, early ends vs late ends, etc) Your games and scoring follow traditional curling rules — including an option to play under new hammer rules and blank ends. Whether you’re lead on a league team, skipping weekend bonspiels, or tracking a full multi-club season, curlIQ keeps team scoring and stats in one app. ** Manage teams, clubs, and events ** Build team rosters from player lineups. Create standard four-player teams or 2-stick two-player teams & games. Register clubs with their sheets and rock colors. Organize league and bonspiel schedules, including multi-club events. Optionally save created game and bonspiel events to your device calendar. Tag games with flights, playdown levels, bracket sides, and round labels such as Match, Qualifier, Semi-Final, and Page formats. Games also include support for tagging events as Associations (Zones, Regions, Provincials, Nationals) ** Rock Journal ** Remember what worked on each sheet. Before you start a game, assign rock numbers by player position. Review rock notes before you decide on rock colors to throw. Throw in order, custom order, or restore your previously thrown order. If you find a questionable rock, you can reassign them among the team during a game. For each club, track sheet win/loss records by rock color and keep notes on individual stones so your team builds sheet memory over time. ** Track team statistics ** See the results and metrics that matter to competitive curlers: - Wins, losses, and ties - Hammer, Force, Steal efficiencies - Steal defense - With and without-hammer factors - Markov chain win probability (WP) profiles for club/elite level teams, games & hammer formats - Win Probability analysis: team win-rates, metrics and performance under critical end/game scenarios - Comprehensive charting and trend analysis Review the performance of your team after every game, league, bonspiel, or season. ** Claude AI-powered reporting ** Generate curlIQ reports that provide an in-depth AI analysis of: - Pre-game matchup insights based on H2H history with an opponent - Post-game review of game execution and metrics - League/Bonspiel/Season team statistics and trends - Export reports in HTML format to easily share with teammates and friends. Reports are grounded in your real results to help you prepare and review more effectively. ** Archive seasons ** Group games into seasons, review summaries, and archive data when a season ends, all while keeping your opponents, events, rock journal notes, game history, and statistics organized and accessible. ** Setup, customization, and privacy ** Start with a guided setup for your first player, club, team, and event. With each new install, 10 games and 10 report credits are included. Credits can be carried across seasons. Explore multiple light and dark themes. Access all the app features while your data stays on your device. Spend less time reconstructing last week’s game and more time planning the next end. Download curlIQ and bring your curling IQ to every game.

Screenshots

SmartBeam3 screens
Curl IQ4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SmartBeam at none against Curl IQ's 9. SmartBeam also leads on iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.4). Curl IQ's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Curl IQ sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. SmartBeam asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SmartBeam ships an update every 3 months, Curl IQ every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
SmartBeam versus Curl IQ: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmartBeamCurl IQ
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.6 — better26.4
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB19 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperAndrew FlemmingSTEPHEN D GOODGER

In-app purchases

None

SmartBeam

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

Curl IQ

One-time9
  • 10 curlIQ Reports$1.99
  • 5 Game Credits$2.99
  • 25 curlIQ Reports$2.99
Show 6 more
  • 50 curlIQ Reports$3.99
  • 10 Game Credits$4.99
  • 100 curlIQ Reports$5.99
  • 30 Game Credits$14.99
  • 60 Game Credits$22.99
  • 100 Game Credits$29.99

Questions

Is SmartBeam free?
SmartBeam is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Curl IQ free?
Curl IQ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do SmartBeam or Curl IQ have ads?
Neither SmartBeam nor Curl IQ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SmartBeam or Curl IQ?
SmartBeam ships an update every 3 months, and Curl IQ every 2 days. Most recently, SmartBeam was updated on October 14, 2026 and Curl IQ on October 17, 2026.

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